Test drive

Ok, the need to do a pre-road trip may be seen as a bit anal retentive for some but here was my logic: while I am very comfortable with highway driving, even prefer it in most cases, my sisters are all fairly new drivers and though they have done some hwy driving with their instructor they haven't had mush experience. So I decided that we needed to do a bit of a trial run just for my peace of mind and to give them a bit of confidence as well. Decided that driving from Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie would give them a good taste of what hwy driving is really like; what the wind feels like when you are driving in the wake of a semi-trailer, high speed lane changes and passing, dealing with road construction and small town slow down. Result: I am so glad we did it, they feel so much more confident. And as for me, a few white hairs and stressed muscles later, I feel more comfortable too. The road to the Sault is fairly winding at some point, merging from divided to double lane, but the girls handled it with growing skill. Sometimes as a seasoned driver you forget how strange, difficult, and nerve wracking it is as a new hwy driver to maintain speed and get a feel for the road. I know that mom and dad are feeling a bit better with the idea of their babies driving all over the USA highways, though they will still worry about us (and we would expect nothing else). So the plan is set for me to drive the 400 series down in TO but once we hit the wide open stretches in the USA the girls are taking over. Count down is t-minus 10 days till departure. So excited :)

Graduation

Well, it is official. I am the proud owner of another expensive piece of paper. True to form we behaved just like the students that we will teach. As Junior/Intermediates we were excited to the point of antsy, our enthusiasm was not kept quiet either. Lined up with our section mates; people we had grown close to, worked with, partied with, and even cried with. People who were virtual strangers in September, thrown together randomly and told that these would be the people we would work with for the rest of the year. As sections go, J/I 2 rocked! I am not saying that everyone got along with everyone, however, for the most part we got along and had a great time while we were at it.

We were marched out of the school and around to the side of the gym where we could be piped in to receive our degrees. Marching in, past our friends and family, hoods draped over our arms to be hooded by the faculty during the ceremony, grins as wide as you can imagine. We witnessed an honorary degree being conferred on an artist/teacher nearing the twilight of his career. He spoke of challenges and memories from his time in the field, in a way reminding many of us why we have decided to make teaching out career. Then it was time to be hooded and received into the faculty of education. Watching the section before us was just a prelude, I couldn't stop smiling. As a section we decided to out cheer the other sections. The first grad from our section and the rest of us that followed, it was fun watching the reactions of our professors as we cheered our section on. I asked our prof who was reading out our names if she had expected anything less of her J/I 2's, and smiling she said that she would expect nothing less. The sections that followed tried to out cheer us, and while at time they may have cheered louder for a specific person but in terms of consistency we were definitely the loudest. We lined up in groups of 10 or so, according to our last names, and after our name was read we marched across the stage where the Dean would take the hood and drape it around our shoulders, signalling our official entrance to the faculty. It was kinda a fun moment, they try their best to slip on the hood, smile for pictures with you as you make small talk on the stage. Then you move down the line to shake hands with everyone (Dean, president, the honorary degree recipient etc), pausing with each to allow the parents to snap their photos, and make your way off stage to head back to your seat. Mom was up taking pics of it all but as she was struggling a bit with my camera, kinda cute to watch.
Then came the waiting part, as in waiting for the end. The J/I division is a big one, 7 sections, and when you account for the number of graduates, and the number of people we have to shake hands with, it takes a while and like the adolescents we will teach we got restless. While the majority of us were at least half paying attention to the other sections, watching for friends, a few people went to pick up their actual degrees from the holding room, some went to Tim Horton's, while others snuck cookies from the reception hall. It was such a party atmosphere. The last guy to get hooded received a huge cheer from all the sections (everyone was glad to see the final graduate). Then came the last of the speeches, including the valedictorian who had a ton of inside jokes (that we all got but our parents didn't)

Anticipation

My head is abuzz with thoughts of the trip and everything that needs to be accomplished before we leave. It seems as if time has sped up, barely giving me the thought that the day has passed. I often find myself looking back to see if I actually accomplished anything. At the same time I know that time will only start to speed faster as departure day approaches, three weeks till we leave for CA to meet Amy and Eldon, and I can hardly wait. But at the same time I wish that time would slow down just a little. The week after we get back I will be leaving again, this time to a new teaching position. I feel woefully unprepared despite my best efforts to get a handle on what I am in for. All the feelings of excitement, fear, delight, self-doubt, happiness, and sadness are being tied together as I count down the days to the departures.

Getting technical - Thursday, April 22, 2010

I keep getting updates on what the girls are getting done while I am class, and I must say “wow” they are efficient. I have been slowly compiling a list of documents and legal stuff I need to need together before we take off. It’s always interesting and frustrating to realize how much legal crap you need to travel to another country, even if it is just across the border from us. I think in some ways the USA may be more tight than other countries I have visited. I understand why but for heaven’s sake we are family (one that is one friendly terms. I am still making sure that I have a letter from the parents stating their permission to take my younger sisters across the border. It just seems safer somehow. On another note, sent off for the new passport today, as always my picture makes me look like a snob, but what are you supposed to do when the photographer keeps telling you “don’t smile, no expression”. Sigh...

Plans being laid - Tuesday, March 16, 2010

March break is being put to good use, well depending to your point of view. As a teacher my time was not as well used as it could have been as I did not get enough of my marking done. However in terms of planning it was an excellent way to pass the time. Maps were laid out, cities were googled, hotels and attractions were mulled over and compared. And just for the fun of it a list was made of the weird, big, and odd along our route...choices, choices, so much fun.

Thank Goodness for the Internet - Friday, February 26, 2010

It’s amazing what you can accomplish online. I’ve been in the wilds of Africa for the past 3 weeks and the girls have been exchanging a flurry of emails about the trip. Where, what, and hows. With all of us in different parts of the country email in essential way for us to exchange info. Checking my email in Nairobi, I was amazed at what they had all accomplished while I was gone. Looking good ladies :)

Give a Day to Disney - Tuesday, February 9, 2010

When I was living in Japan I had the chance to visit Tokyo Disneyland. It was a fun filled day of rides, food, and silly characters. A and E have also been to Disneyland in California many times but the younger girls never have. So we decided that Disneyland was a place we wanted to go, after all this is a trip that may not happen again. A told us about the newest promotion from Disney called “Give a Day to Disney”. The idea being that you volunteer for a local charity or group and Disney gives you a voucher for a day pass at one of their parks. What a great idea! Now the decision was where to volunteer, our problem being we don’t all live in the same city anymore. R was on the ball and started scouting out charities that were associated with Disney, and what we could access from home or get us all together at a specific time and day. We hit jackpot in terms of achievability for us. We decided to volunteer with a charity that makes blankets for the homeless and those in shelters. As it is still winter we felt that this was a particularly worthy cause; there are often freezing warnings in our hometown when the shelters are open 24/7 to ensure that people have somewhere warm to go, but there are always the ones that refuse to go to a shelter. Making blankets seemed like a good thing to do just for the cause itself; getting a pass to Disneyland was really a bonus as we felt great about giving our time. Kinda gave us all a warm fuzzy feeling :) if you will pardon the pun.